Armed Forces: Reconnaissance Vehicles

Baroness Harris of Richmond: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have for the disposal of the Fuchs Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Reconnaissance Vehicles.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government when they will make an announcement on the future arrangements for a chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear capability.

Lord Astor of Hever: The future arrangements for a chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear capability are under review, but this is not a capability we are losing. We will continue to have a robust and effective CBRN capability and any changes will not affect the Olympic Games or homeland CBRN protection. A decision on the future of the Fuchs vehicle has yet to be taken, but the vehicle is not used in this role.

Benefits

Lord Maginnis of Drumglass: To ask Her Majesty's Government what was (a) the average state pension paid to old-age pensioners, and (b) the average total in benefits paid to illegal immigrants in 2010-11.

Lord Freud: The average weekly amount of state pension paid to claimants as at February 2011 is £105.58. Source: DWP Information Directorate: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study.
	Caseloads are rounded to the nearest 10. From April 2010, the age at which women reach state pension age started to gradually increase from 60. This will introduce a small increase to the number of working age benefit recipients and a small reduction to the number of pension-age recipients. Figures from May 2010 onwards reflect this change. For more information see http://statistics.dwp.gov.uk/asd/espa.pdf. The figures are for GB, overseas and unknown cases.
	Information is published on our tabulation tool http://83.244.183.180/100pc/tabtool.html Benefits are not payable to illegal immigrants. Therefore, information on the average total in benefits paid to illegal immigrants is not available.

Benefits

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government which social security payments can be made to or for a second or subsequent polygamous spouse; what are the rates of these payments; what numbers respectively are currently in payment; and whether any extra reduction in rate, as applies with two persons, is calculated to take account of more than two persons cohabiting.

Lord Freud: Income-related benefits, for example Income Support and income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, make provision for payments to be made for a second or subsequent spouse. A husband and his first wife are paid the ordinary couple rate (currently £105.95 a week). An additional £38.45 a week is payable in respect of second and subsequent wives, which is less than the £67.50 they would receive if they were treated as individuals in their own right. Contributory benefits make no provision for polygamous marriages.
	The department's IT system does not hold a breakdown of the number of polygamous households claiming benefit. However, as no one can contract a polygamous marriage in the UK and because under the Immigration Act 1988, it is not possible for people polygamously married overseas to bring second wives to the UK, the overall numbers are relatively small and reducing year on year.

Broadcasting: Television Licences

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many television licences were issued in 2010 in (a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Northern Ireland, and (d) Wales.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many television licences were issued in the past year to viewers entitled to a free licence in (a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Northern Ireland, and (d) Wales.

Baroness Garden of Frognal: The BBC is responsible for the administration and enforcement of the television licensing system. It is independent of the Government. The BBC has informed the department that it does not hold information on the number of licence payers broken down by nation or region. The information is held only at an individual address level. The total number of licences in force as of the end of March 2011 was 25,594,546, of which 4,156,240 were over-75 licences.

Crime: Stalking

Lord Dear: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many complaints of stalking and harassment were received by police in England and Wales in 2009-10; and how many of the complainants were female.

Baroness Browning: Stalking offences are recorded within the offences of "harassment" and "racially or religiously aggravated harassment". In 2009-10, police forces in England and Wales recorded 53,029 offences of harassment and 2,376 offences of racially or religiously aggravated harassment. From the centrally collated Home Office data, it is not possible to identify victim gender.

Crime: Stalking

Lord Dear: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to define the term "stalking" in future legislation.

Baroness Browning: The Protection from Harassment Act 1997 covers stalking. The Act was always intended to tackle stalking, but was drafted so that it could also include any form of persistent conduct which causes alarm or distress. Where an offender pursues a course of conduct which amounts to harassment and the offender knows or ought to know their conduct amounts to harassment, the offence can be charged by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). The definition in the Act was chosen because it is capable of capturing a wide range of behaviours removing the need to update the law to keep apace with technological developments. The Home Office will continue to work with the CPS, Ministry of Justice and the Association of Chief Police Officers to keep this under review.

Crime: Stalking

Baroness Gibson of Market Rasen: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many complaints of harassment or stalking reported to the police were not recorded as crimes in (1) 2008-09, (2) 2009-10, and (3) 2010-11.

Baroness Browning: The requested data on complaints of harassment or stalking which were not recorded as crimes by the police are not available centrally.

Defence: Reform Unit

Lord Moonie: To ask Her Majesty's Government what consultation documents, including options, they have received from the Defence Reform Unit; whether they have received its final recommendations; and when those recommendations will be published.

Lord Astor of Hever: I refer the noble Lord to the Statement I made on 27 June 2011 (Official Report, cols. 1540-43).

Employment

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many jobs were available through Job Centres in March in (a) 2007, (b) 2008, (c) 2009, and (d) 2010.

Lord Freud: These were the number of jobs available through Jobcentre Plus on the first Friday in March for the years requested:
	
		
			 March 2007 343,000 
			 March 2008 398,000 
			 March 2009 232,000 
			 March 2010 245,000

Equality

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Verma on 15 June (WA 192-2), whether they will pilot a cost assessment in a sample of the total number of public bodies having to collate and publish the workforce diversity information required to implement the new duty in Section 149 of the Equality Act 2010 to have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations; and what was the annual cost and staff numbers involved in the Home Civil Service when effecting the previous process requirements.

Baroness Garden of Frognal: Neither Section 149 of the Equality Act 2010 nor the draft specific duties regulations require any public bodies to publish any particular information in relation to their workforce. It will be for each public body to decide exactly what information it publishes. Most large public bodies already have workforce monitoring processes in place. We therefore estimate that there will be no additional costs to public bodies from this requirement.
	For central government departments, we estimate the one-off transitional cost to the new equality duty to be between £19,000 and £26,000, and that the new duty will result in an annual net benefit thereafter of between £750,000 and £800,000.
	This is in comparison to the cost of complying with the previous race, disability and gender equality duties, estimated at around £1.6 million each year and requiring around 13.5 full-time equivalent staff per annum across central government departments. We do not intend to pilot a cost assessment, but we are committed to reviewing the Equality Act as a whole, and the equality duty will be an integral part of that review.

Financial Services Compensation Scheme

Lord Teverson: To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they will take to advance the reform of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme if the proposals in the European Union Investor Compensation Schemes Directive are not agreed by the end of this year.

Lord Sassoon: The operation and governance of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) falls within the remit of the Financial Services Authority (FSA). The FSA has commenced a review of the funding model of the FSCS and will proceed to a formal consultation as soon as is practicable, taking into account progress on European directives affecting compensation arrangements.

Government Departments: Research and Data

Lord Lea of Crondall: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Wilcox on 20 July (WA 315), what percentage of the value added by the top 15 United Kingdom multinationals from the Financial Times Global 500 list is carried out in the United Kingdom; and what percentage of the value added by the top 15 German multinationals is carried out in Germany.

Baroness Wilcox: We do not hold data on overseas performance of UK companies.

Olympic and Paralympic Games 2012

Baroness Grey-Thompson: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that there are an adequate number of wheelchair accessible hotel rooms available for the visiting public during the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Baroness Garden of Frognal: The Government, the Greater London Authority and its agencies, LOCOG and the Olympic Delivery Authority are working together to ensure that, as far as possible, there is a fully inclusive experience for visitors to the Games in 2012.
	The GLA launched the Inclusive London website in March 2011 at: www.inclusivelondon.com, which has already received over 2 million hits. The website informs users of accessible hotels, restaurants, pubs and other buildings in London and allows users to leave reviews of their experiences. The GLA is also providing e-learning for front-line hotel staff and a best-practice guide for maximizing the availability of accessible hotel rooms. Separately, Tourism For All is planning a conference for hospitality providers on accessibility in October 2011.

Sport

Lord Clement-Jones: To ask Her Majesty's Government what powers Sport England has to remove or withdraw funding from a national governing body for sport where there is proof of misconduct or anti-competitive behaviour.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government when they plan to facilitate a meeting with the Amateur Swimming Association, Sport England, Skills Active and the Swimming Teachers' Association to resolve the matter of coaching versus teaching.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the route for complaint and resolution where there are grounds to suspect anti-competitive behaviour, including intentional misinformation, by a national governing body for sport.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government how they will ensure that competition and choice remain in the swimming teacher training market.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to review the operational conduct of the Amateur Swimming Association in the light of evidence suggesting anti-competitive behaviour in its communication with local authorities.

Lord De Mauley: Sport England recognises that national governing bodies (NGBs) are the experts in their sports and that they must take responsibility for growing participation in their sport. Therefore, NGBs, like the Amateur Swimming Association (ASA), are free to invest Sport England funding in activities or organisations they believe can help them meet their outcomes, this includes investing in local authority sports activity.
	If an NGB is not meeting its contracted outcomes, as set out in its whole sport plan funding agreement, and not making any attempt to redress performance in a way which is deemed satisfactory then investment will be decommitted. Sport England will also suspend or decommit funding if an NGB is judged to fall short of certain governance regulations or is not fit to receive public funding.
	NGBs are formally reviewed on a six-monthly basis by Sport England against the terms and conditions of the contracts for which they receive investment. This only takes into account the activities they undertake to deliver on the outcomes set within the contracts. Sport England has not specifically consulted local authorities to outline their levels of satisfaction with the ASA or views on its operations and conduct.
	The Minister for Sport and the Olympics has had no recent discussions about the conduct of the ASA.
	Where there are issues relating to NGBs' performance or behaviour outside of governance or contracted outcomes, Sport England is not obliged to interfere.
	In regard to using public funds to run anti-competitive activity, Community Swimming Limited (CSL) is the self-sustaining private company that has been set up with support from the ASA to deliver swimming in venues that would not normally be available for community use. The company is controlled by a board of independent trustees where the ASA has a limited minority right of representation. As CSL does not use funding from Sport England, Sport England has no jurisdiction over the way in which it operates and it is up to the discretion of leisure operators who they appoint to deliver classes.
	In terms of the issues the Swimming Teachers Association has with the ASA regarding recognition of swimming teaching as a separate qualification from coaching swimming, a meeting is due to take place in September 2011. The purpose of which is for the ASA and the STA, together with SkillsActive and sports coach UK, to discuss the concerns of both parties and agree a way forward. The Minister for Sport and the Olympics will be kept informed of progress.

Sport: Disabled People

Baroness Grey-Thompson: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they will report on the pilot studies undertaken on what sports would be included for disabled athletes competing at the United Kingdom School Games.

Baroness Garden of Frognal: Sheffield Hallam University is undertaking a focused study to ascertain the impact of the pilot stage of the School Games on behalf of Sport England and the Youth Sport Trust. The findings are expected in September 2011.
	Fifteen national governing bodies of sport (NGBs) have been involved in the pilot phase. Sport England issued guidance on how the pilots could focus on staging competitions for disabled children and young people from a range of five disability sports including polybat, table cricket, boccia and new age kurling in addition to testing more inclusive opportunities in athletics, swimming and table tennis. Those NGBs involved in the pilots are due to report back at the same time as the Sheffield Hallam University pilot. Ultimately, over 30 different sports will be involved overall in the School Games and we want as many of those as possible to be accessible for disabled children.

Young People: Voting

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government what percentage of young people aged between 18 and 24 voted in the last three general elections, broken down by (a) gender, and (b) age.

Lord De Mauley: The Government are committed to encouraging all eligible individuals, including young people aged between 18 and 24, to engage with the democratic process and to vote. While the Government do not hold the information which has been requested, a survey was undertaken on behalf of the Electoral Commission by Ipsos-Mori to research turnout among certain demographic groups at the 2010 UK parliamentary election. Their findings can be found at: http://www. electoralcommission.org. uk/_data/assets/pdf_file/0010/100702/Report-on-the-administration-of-the-2010-UK-general-election.pdf

Abdul Baset Al Megrahi

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to Written Answer by Lord Howell of Guildford on 21 June (WA 265), when East Renfrewshire Council was last advised of Abdul Baset Ali Al Megrahi's medical state and whereabouts; whether, in the light of the ending of diplomatic recognition of the Gaddafi regime and Mr Al Megrahi's recent appearance at a Tripoli rally, they will now ask the council for sight of the most recent information it has received on Mr Al Megrahi; what is their current view of the original medical evidence on his condition, and what discussions they have had with the Scottish Administration on the matter.

Lord Howell of Guildford: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) does not monitor the location or health of Abdul Baset Ali Al Megrahi. This is a matter for the Scottish Government through East Renfrewshire Council, as the supervising local authority. We understand that the council is maintaining regular contact with Al Megrahi as required by the conditions of his release licence. Any change in the situation in the light of fast changing internal conditions in Libya will be carefully examined.

Armed Forces: Military Ports

Lord Moonie: To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress has been made with the disposal of Marchwood Military Port; and what measures are they considering for the trans-shipment of heavy military equipment in the future.

Lord Astor of Hever: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) remains committed to selling Marchwood Sea Mounting Centre as set out in the Strategic Defence and Security Review White Paper and Spending Review 2010 publications. In order to deliver this, the MOD is establishing its future requirement for sea mounting services consistent with Defence Strategic Direction. This will enable Ministers to decide how the defence requirement can in future be delivered with maximum value for money; either through contracting with the future owners of Marchwood and/or through using other facilities.

Care Homes

Lord Morris of Manchester: To ask Her Majesty's Government what information they have on financial gains made by care homes from delays in informing local authorities of the deaths of residents whose care the local authorities were, or are still, financing, and on any failure to recover overpayments.

Baroness Hanham: Information on this is not collected centrally by the Department for Communities and Local Government.

Charities: VAT

Baroness Finlay of Llandaff: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will grant VAT exemption to charities providing services on behalf of the National Health Service, in circumstances where the National Health Service would have been eligible for VAT exemption.

Baroness Hanham: VAT exemption for certain healthcare services is available irrespective of whether the organisation is the National Health Service (NHS) or a charity. The main difference in treatment between the two is that the NHS is eligible for a refund of the VAT which it incurs on certain outsourced services, whereas charities are not. This point has been brought to our attention in the context of charitable hospices.
	The Government fully understand the issues and has already pledged to undertake a review. However, this is a complex area where we are constrained by EU VAT legislation. Officials are working with representatives from the hospice sector to try to identify a solution that is both targeted and affordable.

Crime: Rioting

Lord Campbell-Savours: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will publish information identifying the number of people charged with offences related to the recent riots and civil disorder who have previously been the subject of (a) a probationary penalty, (b) an anti- social behaviour order, (c) a report of suspected involvement in a criminal offence, (d) a police caution, or (e) juvenile court proceedings; or have been (f) released on bail, (g) released on licence, (h) prosecuted for a criminal offence, or (i) given a community order.

Lord McNally: We are currently publishing frequent updates on people being dealt with by the court system in relation to the disturbances on 6 to 9 August. These reports can be found on the Ministry of Justice website at http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/statistics-and- data/ad-hoc/index.htm.
	As the publication notes the Chief Statistician will review the quality of data and release further breakdowns as reliable data becomes available. In late August he will then announce what further publications will be released relating to these disturbances.

Defence: Suppliers

Lord Moonie: To ask Her Majesty's Government how the views of small and medium enterprises in the defence supply chain will be represented in the Defence Suppliers' Forum.

Lord Astor of Hever: The new Defence Suppliers Forum contains two seats for representatives of the small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) community. Invitations are issued on a rolling basis dependent on the specific agenda of the meeting.
	In addition to the main forum, a SME sub-group, chaired by the Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology, has been established. This group was specifically established to ensure that the views of SMEs are better represented in future.
	The members include the following associations:
	Aerospace/Defence/Security
	British Chambers of Commerce
	EEF
	Federation of Small Businesses
	Intellect
	Society of Maritime Industries
	NDI
	The group held its first meeting on 7 April 2011.

Justice: Sentencing

The Earl of Dundee: To ask Her Majesty's Government, in the light of new sentencing guidelines on assault, what plans they have to redirect savings from a reduction in custodial sentences to improved rehabilitation programmes and community orders.

Lord McNally: Under the spending review settlement, the Ministry of Justice needs to deliver over £2 billion of savings by 2014/15. Any savings from the custodial estate would contribute to this.
	The department is also currently taking forward work to look at the future shape of probation services in England and Wales, aimed at improving justice outcomes whilst further increasing operational efficiency. We will be considering a range of possible options for service improvements and different models of delivering offender services within the community. We will set out our preferred approach later in the autumn.

Justice: Sentencing

The Earl of Dundee: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their estimate of how much and by when the new sentencing guidelines on assault will reduce the prison population of England and Wales.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their estimate of how much and by when the new sentencing guidelines on assault will reduce the incidence of reoffending in England and Wales.

Lord McNally: The Sentencing Council resource assessment estimated that the guideline on assault could have the following long-term impacts on the prison population for each constituent part of the guideline-
	GBH with intent s.18: between 20 to 60 additional prison places;
	GBH s.20 (incorporating racially or religiously aggravated GBH s.29): between 10 and 20 additional prison places;
	ABH s.47 (incorporating racially or religiously aggravated ABH s.29): between 80 and 200 fewer prison places;
	assault with intent to resist arrest s.38: between 0 and 10 fewer prison places;
	assault on a police officer s.89: between 20 and 60 fewer prison places;
	common assault s.39 (incorporating cases of religiously or racially aggravated common assault s.29): between 150 and 350 fewer prison places.
	The full impact on the prison population may not be seen until 2021, by when everyone who was sentenced prior to the change in guidelines but may have been sentenced differently under the new regime would have left the prison system.
	The resource assessment did not make any estimate as to by how much or by when the new guideline would reduce the incidence of reoffending in England and Wales. The full resource assessment can be found on the Sentencing Council website: http://sentencingcouncil.judiciary.gov.uk/facts/research-and-analysis-publications.htm

Northern Ireland Office: Staff

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government why Hilary Jackson, the director-general of the Northern Ireland Office (NIO), was made redundant; how long was she in post; what were the terms agreed for her departure and the costs; at what age her pension will become payable; whether her post will now be abolished; and whether similar arrangements were put in place for the recent retirement of Sir Jonathan Phillips, the NIO Permanent Secretary.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: The post of director-general of the Northern Ireland Office is not being abolished. The current director-general will be replaced when she leaves later this year under the Cabinet Office-agreed early departure scheme for civil servants.

Pensions

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the evidence and assumptions supporting the conclusion of the Public Service Pensions Commission that public sector pension costs will fall from 1.9 per cent of national income or gross domestic product this year to 1.4 per cent in 2060.

Lord Sassoon: The Government's proposed reforms to public service pensions will ensure that expenditure on pensions is affordable to the taxpayer and that public service pensions are sustainable and fair to both taxpayers and public servants. Schemes are currently discussing proposed reforms with trades unions and other representative bodies.
	Chart Ex.2 of the interim report of the Independent Public Service Pensions Commission, chaired by Lord Hutton of Furness, shows forecast levels of expenditure on pensions as a proportion of GDP. As set out in Annex C of the interim report, these forecasts are sensitive to several assumptions, particularly around the rate of GDP and workforce growth.
	This analysis in Lord Hutton of Furness's report shows that, after the switch to the consumer prices index for the uprating of pensions, and taking into account the cap-and-share arrangements agreed between the Government and the unions in 2009, the cost of pensions could be expected to fall to around 1.4 per cent of GDP by 2060.
	Analysis produced by the NAO and published in their report, The Cost of Public Service Pensions, published in March 2010, shows that, without the switch to CPI indexation or the savings from cap-and-share arrangements, the cost of providing pensions would only fall to 1.8 per cent of GDP.
	Current levels of expenditure on pensions reflect a large increase in spending on pensions. Over the last decade, spending has increased by a third, to £32 billion. This is reflected in Lord Hutton of Furness's analysis. Chart Ex.2 of the interim report shows that, over this period, costs as a share of GDP have risen from around 1.5 per cent of GDP in 1999/00 to around 1.9 per cent in 2009/10.

Religious Intolerance

Lord Maginnis of Drumglass: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the treatment of Christians, specifically Colin Atkinson, by the Wakefield and District Housing Association; which department has oversight for this area; and what steps are being taken to ensure basic human rights for Christians.

Baroness Hanham: The issues of social housing and of cohesion and integration are the responsibility of the Department for Communities and Local Government. The Home Office oversees equality law.
	The Government are committed to ensuring people of all faiths, including Christianity, do not suffer any unlawful discrimination. There has been no assessment of Wakefield District Housing's treatment of any religious groups. However, the Minister for Housing and Local Government publicly supported the right of Mr Atkinson to display his palm cross and subsequently welcomed the housing association's decision to change its stance.
	As the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government remarked in a press notice on 19 July 2010: "Some see religion as a problem that needs to be solved. The new Government see it as part of the solution. I want to send an important signal that we value the role of religion and faith in public life".

Turks and Caicos Islands

Lord Ashcroft: To ask Her Majesty's Government who were the "leading Provo business people" referred to in the press release issued by the Governor's office that the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Mr Henry Bellingham, met during his visit to the Turks and Caicos Islands in July.

Lord Howell of Guildford: The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my honourable friend the Member for North West Norfolk (Mr Bellingham) met a number of leading business people during his visit including the following at a dinner on Providenciales on 16 July: Mr Cecil Arnold, Manager - Scotia Bank; Mr John Phillips, Mac Motors; Mr Andrew Mann, Tropical Images; Mr Albray Butterfield Jr, Butterfield Gold; Mr Kevin Froemming, President, Unique Vacations- Beaches; Mr Clayton Thomas, La Vele; Mr Drexwell Seymour, General Manager - Lime; Ms Tanya Parnell, Chamber of Commerce; Mr Washington Misick, Prestigious Properties and Mr Lou Patane, Property Developer.

Unemployment

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government what percentage of people aged (a) under 21, (b) between 21 and 40, and (c) over 40 are registered as unemployed in each of the London boroughs.

Lord Freud: The information requested is shown in the table below.
	
		
			 Percentages of the working age population claiming jobseeker's allowance in each London local authority 
			 Local Authority Under 21 Between 21 and 40 Over 40 
			 City of London 2.9 1.0 1.7 
			 Barking & Dagenham 7.3 6.6 4.9 
			 Barnet 3.2 3.3 2.7 
			 Bexley 4.4 3.6 2.4 
			 Brent 4.7 5.9 5.3 
			 Bromley 4.0 3.1 2.4 
			 Camden 2.6 2.6 4.0 
			 Croydon 4.9 5.0 3.6 
			 Ealing 4.3 4.1 3.8 
			 Enfield 5.8 6.1 4.2 
			 Greenwich 6.1 5.0 4.2 
			 Hackney 6.2 6.7 7.5 
			 Hammersmith & Fulham 4.8 3.8 5.0 
			 Haringey 6.6 6.4 6.4 
			 Harrow 2.5 2.9 2.5 
			 Havering 4.8 4.1 2.6 
			 Hillingdon 2.5 3.2 2.5 
			 Hounslow 4.2 3.1 2.9 
			 Islington 5.4 4.2 5.7 
			 Kensington & Chelsea 3.0 3.1 3.0 
			 Kingston upon Thames 1.5 1.6 1.8 
			 Lambeth 6.4 4.6 6.7 
			 Lewisham 5.9 5.2 5.0 
			 Merton 3.5 2.3 2.4 
			 Newham 6.9 6.9 6.3 
			 Redbridge 4.3 4.1 3.3 
			 Richmond upon Thames 1.7 1.6 1.6 
			 Southwark 5.8 4.4 5.7 
			 Sutton 3.4 3.0 2.2 
			 Tower Hamlets 7.5 5.0 7.4 
			 Waltham Forest 6.9 6.0 5.3 
			 Wandsworth 4.8 2.4 3.9 
			 City of Westminster 2.6 2.3 3.5 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. All data is taken from the DWP Information Directorate Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study (WPLS) and ONS Population Estimates.
	2. Population estimates are for mid-2010.
	3. Under 21 years of age includes 16 to 20 year-olds, and over 40 years of age includes males aged 41-64 and females aged 41-59.
	4. All percentages are rounded to one decimal place.

Unemployment

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government what percentage of people aged (a) under 21, (b) between 21 and 40, and (c) over 40 are registered as unemployed in (1) Leeds, (2) Birmingham, (3) Manchester, (4) Glasgow, (5) Edinburgh and (6) Cardiff.

Lord Freud: (a) Percentages of people aged under 21 claiming jobseeker's allowance in: 
			 Local Authority Percentages (shown to one decimal place) 
			 Leeds 4.3 
			 Birmingham 7.3 
			 Manchester 4.4 
			 Glasgow 7.8 
			 Edinburgh 4.3 
			 Cardiff 4.5 
		
	
	
		
			 (b) Percentages of people aged between 21 and 40 claiming jobseeker's allowance in: 
			 Local Authority Percentages (shown to one decimal place) 
			 Leeds 4.8 
			 Birmingham 8.0 
			 Manchester 5.0 
			 Glasgow 6.7 
			 Edinburgh 3.4 
			 Cardiff 4.8 
		
	
	
		
			 (c) Percentages of people aged over 40 registered claiming jobseeker's allowance in: 
			 Local Authority Percentages (shown to one decimal place) 
			 Leeds 3.7 
			 Birmingham 6.0 
			 Manchester 5.0 
			 Glasgow 5.3 
			 Edinburgh 2.8 
			 Cardiff 3.6 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. All data is taken from the DWP Information Directorate Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study (WPLS) and ONS Population Estimates Mid-2010.
	2. Population estimates are for mid-2010.
	3. Under 21 years of age includes 16 to 20 year-olds, and over 40 years of age includes males aged 41-64 and females aged 41-59.
	4. All percentages are of the working age population.

Airports: Heathrow

Lord Soley: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Attlee on 19 July (HL11133), whether discussions have taken place about the ability of Heathrow Airport to provide additional landing rights.

Lord Shutt of Greetland: The coalition Government have made clear that they will not support a third runway at Heathrow Airport. Movements at Heathrow Airport are capped at 480,000 per year. Within this cap, the allocation of slots is governed by EC Regulation 95/93 (as amended by 793/2004) on the allocation of take-off and landing slots at congested community airports.

Armed Forces: Aircraft

Lord Moonie: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the United States Government in 2011 about the possibility of withdrawing from the F-35 aircraft programme.

Lord Astor of Hever: No discussions have taken place with representatives of the United States Government about the possibility of a UK withdrawal from the F-35 aircraft programme. As my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Defence confirmed in the other place on 18 July 2011 (Official Report, Commons, col. 643¬645), we remain committed to the Joint Strike Fighter programme.

Armed Forces: Medals

Lord Craig of Radley: To ask Her Majesty's Government why British recipients are not permitted to wear the Pingat Jasa Malaysia medal awarded by the King and Government of Malaysia to British and Commonwealth Forces who served in Malaysia during the Malayan Emergency and the Malaysian-Indonesian confrontation periods, when it may be worn by recipients in other Commonwealth countries.

Lord Astor of Hever: It is a great testimony to our veterans that the Malaysian Government wished to honour them with the Pingat Jasa Malaysia (PJM) medal which was introduced in 2005 in recognition of the role they played in supporting Malaysia and beforehand Malaya, between August 1957 and August 1966.
	As a foreign award, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has the Government lead on the PJM. I am delighted that an exception to our rules was recommended by the Committee on the Grant of Honours, Decorations and Medals to allow our veterans to accept the medal and that this recommendation was agreed by Her Majesty the Queen.
	Permission was not however recommended for the PJM to be worn by veterans as the majority had previously been awarded the British General Service Medal (GSM), for their service in the region. There was a period of time, between 1960 and 1962 and, in the case of the Army, from mid-1965 onwards when the risk and rigour was not deemed sufficient to award a medal to British troops stationed in the area. It is therefore the case that some personnel did not receive a British medal for the time that they served there and they may consider that receiving the PJM would not contravene our long-standing "no double double-medalling" convention as they do not have a British medal for their service. However, the qualifying periods for the GSM were very carefully considered at the time, and it must be assumed that those in authority had good reasons for the criteria prescribed. The lack of a General Service Medal, or a clasp to it, does not, in itself, mean automatic qualification to wear the PJM.
	The Governments of the Commonwealth are autonomous and independent of each other. Each Government apply their own rules and judgment to their own citizens. This applies to medals as it applies to other aspects of public policy. These differences do not constitute unfair discrimination, but the reasonable exercise of independent judgment by each country's Government in line with its own constitutional principles.

Armed Forces: Staff

Lord Trefgarne: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the current regular strength of the Royal Marines.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the current regular strength of (a) the Royal Navy, excluding the Royal Marines, (b) the Army, and (c) the Royal Air Force.

Lord Astor of Hever: The following table lists the regular trained strength of the Armed Forces as at 1 July 2011:
	
		
			 Service Trained Strength 
			 Royal Navy 35,120 
			 Royal Marines 8,030 
			 Army 100,780 
			 Royal Air Force 39,860 
		
	
	Note: All figures are rounded to the nearest 10

BSkyB

Lord Oakeshott of Seagrove Bay: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Prime Minister consulted Mr Andy Coulson in December 2010 on the decision to remove ministerial responsibility for News Corporation's bid for BSkyB from the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills.

Lord Strathclyde: The decision was prompted by reported remarks by the Secretary of State for Business and was taken by the Prime Minister.

Cash for Honours

Lord Pearson of Rannoch: To ask Her Majesty's Government, in the light of the statement by the Prime Minister on phone hacking and the failure of the first police investigation, whether they will ask the police to re-open their investigation into cash for honours, which was conducted by the same team.

Baroness Browning: Decisions on whether to reopen a criminal investigation are operational matters for the police force concerned.

CCTV

Lord Campbell-Savours: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will institute a review of current guidelines for the pixellation of pictures taken by closed circuit television and other equipment used during surveillance of potential criminal activity.

Baroness Browning: In order to regulate surveillance camera systems, including CCTV, more effectively, the Government have already introduced provisions in the Protection of Freedoms Bill for a code of practice about the operation of such camera systems. The Bill also proposes the creation of a Surveillance Camera Commissioner to encourage compliance with, review the operation of, and provide advice about the code.
	The Government undertook a public consultation on the content of the proposed code of practice and are currently reviewing the responses received.

Elections: National Assembly for Wales

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government why the decision was made not to include the names of candidates on regional top-up lists for the National Assembly for Wales elections in May.

Lord Wallace of Tankerness: The decision to remove the names of regional party list candidates from ballot papers for the 2011 elections to the National Assembly for Wales followed concerns expressed by electoral administrators during the 2007 Assembly elections over the increasing size of ballot papers.
	The Government took the decision following discussions with the four main political parties in Wales, the Electoral Commission, the Welsh Government and representatives of the Association of Electoral Administrators. The names of regional party list candidates must be displayed inside and outside polling stations.

Elections: National Assembly for Wales

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will introduce legislation to require inclusion of the names of regional top-up list candidates in future elections to the National Assembly for Wales.

Lord Wallace of Tankerness: The Government currently have no plans to introduce such legislation.

Embryology

Baroness Finlay of Llandaff: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to enable children conceived by donated sperm or eggs before 1991 to trace their origins; and what plans they have to replace the service previously provided by UK DonorLink, following their withdrawal of funding for that organisation.

Earl Howe: The Government have provided funding since 2004 to After Adoption Yorkshire to run UK DonorLink, a voluntary contact register for donor-conceived people conceived before 1991 and their donors.
	Taking into account the severe pressures on, and competing priorities for, public sector funding, the department provided a grant of £60,000 for 2011-12 on the understanding that After Adoption Yorkshire would move the register to a self-sustaining basis during the year.
	After Adoption Yorkshire has informed us that it has not been successful in managing this transition and we are currently giving active consideration to the future options for this service.

Embryology

Baroness Finlay of Llandaff: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many children were conceived in the United Kingdom using donor gametes between 1970 and 1991.

Earl Howe: This information has never been collected.

Energy: Carbon Emissions

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their estimate of changes in carbon emissions from vehicles if the maximum speed limit were (a) reduced from 70 mph to 60 mph, or (b) increased from 70 mph to 80 mph.

Lord Shutt of Greetland: Under relatively steady speed driving conditions carbon dioxide emissions increase by around 14 per cent between 70 and 80 mph and decrease by around 10 per cent between 70 mph and 60 mph. However, the impact of changes in speed limits are more complex, due to factors such as driver behaviour and traffic, which means the impact on average speeds is typically smaller. Modelling done for the carbon reduction strategy suggested that the carbon dioxide savings from reduced speed limits were relatively small.
	Preliminary work reviewing the motorway speed limit is in progress: carbon emissions will be part of the assessment.

Faith Groups

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have assessed the impact on discrimination and equality of the increased involvement of faith groups in the provision of services.

Baroness Warsi: Government have a requirement to ensure all providers comply with equality legislation. It is the responsibility of the commissioning organisation to pay due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, promote equality and foster good relations between different groups of people.
	An initial equality impact assessment was completed for the open public services White Paper. Following an extensive listening period between July and September the Government will set out a programme of work to implement the open public services agenda. The departments and agencies responsible for delivering open public services will continue to work closely with the Government Equalities Office to develop policy and conduct full equality impact assessments on all new policies.

Female Genital Mutilation

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what training and guidance is available for teachers and students to make them aware of female genital mutilation, and the law relevant to female genital mutilation.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have plans to encourage teachers to raise awareness of female genital mutilation amongst girls in schools; and, if so, how.

Lord Hill of Oareford: Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a form of abuse and is wholly unacceptable. The Government believe that schools are best placed to assess which materials or strategies might be useful to help raise the awareness of their pupils about particular types of harm such as female genital mutilation. This would include raising awareness among pupils who may themselves be vulnerable to such abuse.
	The inter-agency guidance, Working Together to Safeguard Children (2010) and guidance to schools and FE colleges, Safeguarding Children and Safer Recruitment in Education (2006), set out how schools and individuals should work together to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and young people. These documents include guidance on FGM.
	The Department for Education works closely with the Home Office, Department of Health, Department for International Development and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) on issues related to FGM. Together we have produced multi-agency guidelines for a broad range of front-line practitioners, including teachers, to help them when working with young people. In addition, the FCO has funded a short film made by young people on FGM and its consequences. This is accompanied by a teachers' resource pack designed to support teachers to deliver a lesson on FGM. This resource will be available for use in secondary schools in September 2011.

Finance: Balance of Payments

Lord Pearson of Rannoch: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they expect the United Kingdom balance of payments for 2010 to be published.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: I refer the noble Lord to my Written Ministerial Statement of Monday 5 September 2011.

Finance: Balance of Payments

Lord Pearson of Rannoch: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans National Statistics have, in compiling their geographical analyses of the balance of payments current account, to record as the country-of-ultimate-destination (in respect of credits) the end-destination of such credits rather than the country of first consignment, and as the country-of-origin (in respect of debits) the first-originating-country, rather than the last country through which such debits have passed.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: I refer the noble Lord to my Written Ministerial Statement of Monday 5 September 2011.

Firearms: Licensing

Viscount Astor: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they will answer HL9723 and HL9724 concerning firearms licences, tabled on 7 June and due for answer on 21 June.

Lord Shutt of Greetland: I refer my noble friend to my answer of 20 July 2011 (Official Report, col. WA313).

Government: Ministerial Meetings

Lord Campbell-Savours: To ask Her Majesty's Government on what date in May 2010 the Prime Minister met Mr Paul Dacre of the Daily Mail for a general discussion.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government on what date in June 2010 the Prime Minister met Mr James Harding of The Times for an interview.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government on what date in November 2010 the Prime Minister met Mr John Micklethwait of The Economist; and whether during the course of the meeting the Prime Minister discussed the strategy for growth.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government on what dates in May 2010 and July 2011 the Prime Minister met Brigadier James Cowan; whether matters relating to defence were discussed; and, if so, during which meetings.

Lord Strathclyde: Details of the Prime Minister's meetings with proprietors, editors and senior media executives going back to the general election as well as details of meetings with external organisations can be found on the Cabinet Office website in the format set out there. The publication of this information is a part of the unprecedented level of transparency that this Government have introduced.

Gross Domestic Product

Lord Hennessy of Nympsfield: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the statement by the Secretary of State for Defence on 18 July (Official Report, col. 643), what is their estimate of the proportion of gross domestic product that will be absorbed by defence spending over the period 2015-20, excluding any contributions from the contingency reserve for whatever operations may be necessary.

Lord Astor of Hever: It is too early to say what proportion of GDP will be spent on defence from 2015 onwards. Although the Ministry of Defence (MoD) now has clarity over a 10-year period on equipment spend, which accounts for around 40 per cent of the overall MoD budget, full departmental settlements will not be determined until the next spending review.

Railways: Train Design

Lord Bradshaw: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the future of the train design and building industry in the United Kingdom.

Lord Shutt of Greetland: This Government have secured funding for a major programme of capacity enhancement for both National Rail and the London Underground. Moreover the Government are reforming the franchise system which is likely to lead to more train operators procuring new rolling stock. These are major opportunities for the train manufacturing industry and its associated supply chain, which will see around 2,700 new carriages on the national rail network by 2019.
	Agility Trains, a consortium of Hitachi and John Laing, are the preferred bidder for the IEP contract. I welcome the proposal by Hitachi to locate its new European manufacturing and assembly facility in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, which will supply the new IEP trains and create over 500 new jobs, plus many more in the supply chain and the ongoing maintenance of the new trains.

Royal Parks

Lord Elton: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Rawlings on 31 January (WA 238-9), what are their current plans for the management of Royal Parks; whether changes have been made to those plans since their Statement of Intent issued on 18 January; and why any such changes were made.

Lord Shutt of Greetland: I refer the noble Lord to the Ministerial Written Statement made by Baroness Garden of Frognal on Monday 18 July 2011 (Official Report, cols. WS 127-80. (www.publications.parliament. uk/pa/1d201011/1dhansrd/text/110718-wms0001.htm#11071816000377).

Visas

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to Written Answers by Baroness Browning on 6 July (WA 78) and 20 July (WA 322), whether they are satisfied that the impact assessment of the planned changes to tier 4 visa requirements represented a reasonable view of the expected costs, benefits and impacts of the policy.

Lord Shutt of Greetland: The impact assessment was prepared based on the most recent evidence available.
	The Migration Advisory Committee has been commissioned to research the labour market, social and public service impacts of migration, including the issue of displacement and replacement of resident labour (which accounts for most of the stated costs), and is due to report in November. This will help us in future to improve estimates of the costs, benefits and impacts of changes to the immigration system.

Youth Centres

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many youth centres were closed in (a) 2008, (b) 2009, and (c) 2010.

Lord Hill of Oareford: This information is not held centrally. Local authorities are accountable to their councillors and to local people, not national government, for how they prioritise and allocate their available resources.